


little, broken, still good

by authenticaussie



Series: and we can watch the stars on the water [67]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Family Feels, Gen, Sometimes you fall asleep at work and your siblings call your dad and he decides to adopt them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24175102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/authenticaussie/pseuds/authenticaussie
Summary: An exhausted Ace falls asleep at work one day, forgetting to pick up his younger siblings from school.It's all good, though. They know how to use cell phones.
Relationships: Portgas D. Ace & Shirohige | Whitebeard | Edward Newgate, Portgas D. Ace & Whitebeard Pirates
Series: and we can watch the stars on the water [67]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/131913
Comments: 16
Kudos: 264





	little, broken, still good

**Author's Note:**

> ammo-never-runs-out-of-knives: Modern au! Also Age change au! Where Ace is a couple year older the Sabo with Luffy being a couple years younger then Sabo. And like, Ace trying to raise these two boys while also working at this big company aka WB inc. (con't)

“Hi, are you Ace’s boss?”

Whitebeard takes his phone away from his ear to stare at the number.

 _A child,_ he thinks, and maybe that’s rude because the person on the other end of the line is obviously fighting voice cracks, but Whitebeard still considers Marco young, so this squeaky-voiced teen must be a child. A _child,_ calling their office at 5pm as the light turns copper out the window. A child asking for Ace, who’s been asleep since 3 with no sign of stirring. Narcolepsy and the dark bags under his eyes had left Whitebeard hanging up a sign at Ace’s desk that said _do not disturb._

“May I ask who’s calling? Ace is a bit preoccupied right now.”

“ _Told you_ ,” Whitebeard hears hissed on the other side of the line. “ _He wouldn’t forget us._ ”

“I wasn’t the one worried about that!” snaps the kid, badly covering the microphone, and Whitebeard hears the sound of a throat clearing before the kid comes back, all polite condescension. “We’re Ace’s brothers. He was supposed to pick us up from school half-an-hour ago, but he’s not here. Is he still at work?”

A loud screech and swearing comes through the speaker, and Whitebeard pulls the phone away from his ear just before someone yells, “ _Is he okay?_ ”

“ _Luffy,_ give me my phone back!”

“Ace is sleeping, at the moment,” Whitebeard says, and then clears his throat. “Could you repeat, however. Ace’s…. _brothers_?”

“Yeah, old man. That’s what we said! Do you have a hearing problem?” The child sounds delighted by the very thought, and Whitebeard’s eyebrows rise somewhere near his hairline.

He hears a shriek of, “Give me my _phone!”_ and then angry scuffling, but a moment later the polite teenager is back, mumbling a string of apologies. Whitebeard laughs.

“It’s fine, kid,” he says, ignoring the small relieved sigh that crackles through the mic. “Did you want me to go wake Ace up, so he could come get you?”

A pause, long enough that Whitebeard realises this kid is used to making big decisions. His heart tightens.

“…We can get home. It’s okay. Can you tell him that we’ll walk?”

Whitebeard looks at the sun setting outside and makes a decision. He pushes himself up from his desk. “Has Ace told you what his boss looks like?”

“…yeah?”

“I’m uncomfortable with you two walking home at night. If I came to pick you up, would you let me take you to the office? You can wait here with everyone while Ace sleeps.”

“Ace’s _office_?” the excited voice squeaks, and then suddenly all Whitebeard can hear is high-pitched begging, before it’s shut down with a harsh snap.

There’s a large, angry sigh, and then the teenager says, “Bring Ace’s hat with you. We go to Marie Jose. _And_ we’re waiting inside with the teachers. And security guards.”

“Good,” Whitebeard says, and hears a tiny, surprised noise. “I’m glad you’re keeping your safety in mind.”

 _Brothers,_ he thinks, as the teen hangs up with a curt goodbye, and he stumbles around his office in a daze while he tries to find his keys. _Brothers!_

 _New sons_ , whispers a small voice gleefully, and Whitebeard grins as he strides from his office, stealing Ace’s distinctive orange hat as he leaves the building.

What a delightful surprise, to learn more about Ace. And, what a delightful surprise, to be allowed to meet _brothers_ , and hear all about Ace through the words of his family.

**Author's Note:**

> ammo-never-runs-out-of-knives: And then one day he accidentally falls asleep at his desk at work and doesn't pick up Sabo and so Sabo calls WB himself and WB goes to pick up this small child in person (also the wbs have no idea about Aces little brothers until this point)
> 
> ta-daaaaaaaa fLUFF TIME, BABIES!!!
> 
> Please review hope y'all enjoyed this concept <333 ;w;


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